Chris Ferguson Wins U.S. National Heads-Up Championship

Despite its relatively young four-year existence, the NBC National Heads-Up Poker Championship already has historical significance in the poker world, and even more was added tonight. Two opponents, best known for being the bridesmaids and not the brides, stepped into the spotlight of the final table for a shot at redemption. Chris “Jesus” Ferguson advanced to the finals for the third time in four years, still looking for his first win. Andy Bloch, widely known for finishing heads-up against the late Chip Reese in the inaugural $50,000 H.O.R.S.E. event at the 2006 World Series, hoped to prove once and for all that he was capable of closing it out. But before history was made, eight players had to become two.

The stage was trimmed down a bit to start the day. Two tables were removed, and the audience was brought in, giving these critical matches a more intimate feel, despite the cash-game activity heard in the next room.

The heart and diamond brackets were up first to trim the field down and declare a final four. In the hearts bracket, Bloch took on Cinderella story and former Major League MVP, Orel Hershisher. Hershisher never really got anything going and was eliminated when his J-10 failed to catch up to Bloch’s A-9.

Across the stage in the diamond bracket, Huck Seed took on nosebleed high-stakes cash game player David Benyamine. Seed flopped a set and got Benyamine to commit his chips on the river with an overpair on the final hand.

The set was then cleared to make way for the spade and club brackets’ quarterfinals, featuring some of the game’s best. In the club bracket, young gun Jonathan Little matched up with perennial favorite Ferguson. Little had Ferguson down 7-1 in chips, but three double-ups later, Little was eliminated.

In the spade bracket sat two of the games most well-known players in Phil Ivey and Gus Hansen. Ivey made quick work of the Great Dane after flopping the second-nut flush a few hands into the match.

The final four was an all Full Tilt Poker affair, and the pros gathered to see who would survive and face off in the finals. Coming off of a win at the L.A. Poker Classic, many predicted that Ivey would steamroll Ferguson out of the tournament, but Ivey was all in with a lower pair and missed all of his straight draws to hit the rail. Ivey earned $125,000 for his efforts, a relatively small sum considering the nearly $1.6 million he pocketed a few days ago.

Seed, who was making his second final four appearance, then took on Bloch for the final championship seat. Bloch won a coin flip with A-Q against Seed’s pocket nines, and he moved on to the finals. Seed also earned $125,000, and, along with Scott Fischman, represented one of only two players to cash in each of the four seasons of this event.

And then there were two … . Bloch and Ferguson sat down for a best-of-three competition to see who would take home $500,000 and, perhaps more importantly, get the monkey off of his back. Ferguson struck first, building his stack to a 4-1 chip lead before disaster struck in the form of two coolers. First, Bloch doubled up with a flush that bested Ferguson’s set of eights. Then, Ferguson’s top-pair top-kicker ran into Bloch’s flopped trips to give the first match to the former MIT blackjack team member.

Ferguson would not go quietly, however. After getting an overpair to hold up against Bloch's open-ended straight draw, Ferguson made quad-queens to take the second match and even things up. The final match would determine it all, and the crowd stood by, ready to embrace its champion.

The third match came down to a tough decision decided by a coin flip. But this wasn't your everyday poker coin flip, this was literally a coin flip. Ferguson raised on the button to 25,000, and Bloch made the call. The flop came 10 7 3, and Ferguson bet 35,000. Bloch check-raised to 105,000, and Ferguson called. The turn was the 7, and Bloch bet out 150,000. Ferguson moved all in, and Bloch went into the tank. He tanked for a full seven minutes before eventually deciding to flip a coin for his fate. The coin landed on heads, and Bloch called, showing 10 4 for top pair and a flush draw, but Ferguson's J J held the lead, albeit a small one. The river was a safe 7, giving Ferguson the best full house and the victory. Bloch took home $250,000 for his efforts, and Ferguson walked away with the trophy, a championship watch, $500,000, a $10,000 seat in the 2008 World Series of Poker main event, and a monkey-less back. "Third try's the charm," said Ferguson as he hoisted up the championship trophy.

Click here for the final results.

Click here to read about the history of the NBC National Heads-Up Championship, along with the full bracket results from this year.

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